Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Creating a Culture where Black Boys Thrive in Reading

African-American males, like all students, benefit greatly
from being able to read and write well. But reading and writing well is not enough.
It certainly wasn’t for me. As a Black boy growing up in a predominantly
African-American district, I was able to read and write so well that my parents
allowed me to skip the fourth grade. Still, reading didn’t take on a
transformative place for me until high school. I can only imagine what would
have happened if Ms. Dew, my 10th grade teacher hadn’t taken the
time to create conditions that spoke to who I was as a Black Boy. It’s possible
that I am not even writing this blog to you. It’s certainly unlikely that I
would have been blessed to become the only African American male from Baltimore
County Public Schools to ever win the Maryland State Teacher of the Year award.
So, there has to be something more that our potential-rich Black males get out
of the reading process than just discrete skills. For this experience to happen
though, the conditions have to be present for the culture to take hold. Below
are five ways that culture can be created:

1. Present diverse text sets (game recaps, poetry, rap) in
the classroom that are thematically connected and engaging to the interests of
African American males

2. Always present texts and videos of speeches that show
African-American males speaking well or that affirm the importance and power of
African American males

3. Give multiple chances for African-American males to speak
and write about things they are passionate about (also give multiple
performance opportunities)

4. Connect the African-American male students in your class
with their historical counterparts

5. As a teacher, show love, compassion, interest and empathy
for their lives outside of school